Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-19
DAILY HERALD.
VETERAN IN CRIME.
Thrice Sentenced tn Death and at
so Years i'm Jail for Theft.

Thrice Sentenced to Death and at
so Years i'm Jail for Theft.
A Uniontown, Pa, letter to the New
York Sun says: Elihu Gregg, aged so
years, after having been three times
sentenced to death and once to impris-
onment for life, is now in the Fayette
county Jail at this place awaiting trial
on the simple charge of horse stealing.
His career in crime has been a unique
one. For more than fifty years he has
been a successful horse and cattle
thief, operating in the border counties
of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and
to steal horse from farmers barn
and with it drive off whole herd
OF cattle and flock of sheep, getting
away safely with them all and dis
posing Of them beyond the jurisdiction
of the authorities where the robbery
had been committed. In 1869 it be-
came so hot for him in this State and
Ohio that he took up his residence in
Preston county, w. Va. He had been
there but short time when neigh
Dor sued him for slander and obtained
a judgment against him for 800. A
decree was granted for the sale of
.Gregg's property, but before the writ
could be issued from the records in
the case the court house of Preston
county was destroyed by fire, together
with all the county records. This
prevented the judgment sale of Gregg's
property.
CONVICTED OF HoRss-sTEALING.
Soon after the fire evidence was dis
covered which fixed the firing of the
courthouse ON the old horse-thief, and
he was arrested, charged with the
crime. At his trial still more evidence
had been collected, and he was con-
victed. At that time incendiarism in
West Virginia was punished by death.
He was sentenced by Judge Ollie to
be hanged on September 2, 1869. Be-
fore the date of hanging came around
Gregg's counsel obtained an order
from the Supreme Court for new
trial. The second trial resulted in
another conviction. Gregg was re-
sentenced to be hanged ON January
2S, 1870. A few days after his SEN
tence he was told he could have his
choice between hanging and imprison-
ment for life. This was announced to
him in his cell.
'To-with Imprisonment for life ?"
he exclaimed. "I'm old enough to
hang, and that's what | WANT
On the night of November /, 1869,
he escaped from Jail, and all that was
heard OF him for seven years was a
letter he wrote to friend in Pres
ton, which was received on the day
he was to have been hanged, and in
which he sent his regrets to the au-
thorities of that county that he was
compelled to be absent from the cere-
monies which the Governor had ar
ranged for him.
In December, 1887, Gregg appeared
at the house OF his daughter, who
lived at Rice's Landing, Greene
county, this state. He had been
there but few days when he quar-
relied with his son-in-law. A week
after an officer from West Virginia
came to Rice's Landing and captured
the old criminal, Gregg charged his
.son-in-law with having betrayed him
to the authorities, and tried to kill him
before he went away with the officer,
shooting him three times, but not
fatally. After going a short distance
with the officer he made up his mind
that he could not walk, and had to be
carried to the cars and from the ears
to the jail Just before reaching the
jail he ripped open his coat, took a
bottle from it and drank the contents
before he could be prevented. The
viol contained two ounces of lauda-
mum. A physician and the Jail Off
cials worked with him all night, dur
ing which time he remained uncon-
scious, and saved his life. As the day
fixed for the hanging had passed., his
lawyer asserted that the sentence could
not be carried out, and that he could
not be triedifor his life again. His
case was in the courts for two years,
when Judge Brandon of the Supreme
Court decided that the old sentence
could be executed, and the date of his
hanging was fixed for February 8,
1880. The sentence was committed to
Imprisonment for life by Governor
Matthews, and a year later he was
pardoned, it being thought that he
could live but a few weeks.
IN JAIL AGAIN.
He disappeared and nothing was
heard of him again until last winter.
On the night of the 14th of November,
1885, valuable horse was stolen from
the stable OF Lewis Knight in Luzerne
township, this county. Officers got on
the track of the thief and followed it
for six weeks. They finally came upon
him in the mountains of West Nir-
ginia, with the horse still in his pos
session. The thief was none other than
old Elihu Gregg. He was taken into
custody, but escaped from the officers
before they got him to the Pennsylva-
mia line. He evaded pursuit until last
month, when he was discovered at
Redstone Junction, an out-of-the-way
place in the southern part of Fayette
county. He was captured and brought
to this town and lodged in Jail. He
will be tried at the June term of court,
and will doubtless end his days in